Of Codes and Common Law: The Approach to Apparent Bias in Local Government Committees

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Acknowledgements

With thanks to Richard Drabble KC and Paul Brown KC for their valuable and interesting discussion of the issues raised in these cases. All views are the author's own.

Open Government Licence Statement

Contains public sector material licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Notes

1 Department for Communities and Local Government, ‘Openness and transparency on personal interests: A guide for councillors’ (September 2013) 3.

2 In re Medicaments and Related Classes of Goods (No 2) [2001] 1 WLR 700 [38].

3 R (Hussain) v Sandwell MBC [2017] EWHC 1641 (Admin), [2018] PTSR 142 [154] (Green J).

4 Porter v Magill [2001] UKHL 68, [2002] 2 AC 357 [103] (Lord Hope) (‘Porter’).

5 [2022] EWHC 2817 (Admin).

6 [2023] EWHC 2091 (Admin).

7 CPRE (n 5) [29], [37], [49].

8 ibid [38]–[39].

9 Webb (n 6) [42].

10 ibid [43].

11 ibid.

12 CPRE (n 5) [51].

13 Webb (n 6) [47].

14 Meerabux v Attorney General of Belize [2005] UKPC 12, [2005] 2 AC 513 [24] (Lord Hope).

15 East Northamptonshire DC v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2012] EWHC 4377 (Admin) (Underhill J), recusing himself from proceedings in which the National Trust was an active party on account of his membership of that organisation.

16 R v LL [2011] EWCA Crim 65 [30]–[31] (Lord Judge).

17 Webb (n 6) [70]–[71].

18 [2009] EWCA Civ 566 [33].

19 Webb (n 6) [74]–[75].

20 [2008] EWCA Civ 746, [2009] 1 WLR 83 [94] (Rix LJ).

21 Webb (n 6) [39].